Selenium and its substitution in critically ill patients

In patients in the ICU of the Anaesthesiological Clinic we find generally decreased selenium (Se) in serum, which does not normalise under supplementation with standard doses of Se. Some recently published papers demonstrate that supplementation of high doses of Se significantly decreases the mortality of patients in critical states. We therefore started in a prospective clinical trial the supplementation of Se in high doses and followed its influence on selected laboratory parameters, on the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and on the survival of critically ill patients.